Acres of Caribbean blue water lined by broad promenades and luxe cabanas. White sand beaches -- some serving as launches for swimmers and kayakers, and some designed for relaxing with a fruity cocktail -- slope into a sparkling sea.

But can you picture all that plunked down in Texas, a state where most of the lakes are man-made?Executives of Crystal Lagoons, the company building a showpiece eight-acre water feature at the planned $1 billion Bayside development on Lake Ray Hubbard, say it’s not just possible, it’s the future.

“You have a great opportunity to provide beach life to people in driving distance from their homes,” said Uri Man, the U.S. CEO of Chile-based Crystal Lagoons.

The Dallas-based developer behind the $1 billion Bayside mixed-use project — which will feature a Cabo-like, blue-hued lagoon — has begun cobbling together his restaurant mix that will surround the lagoon adjacent to Lake Ray Hubbard.

By the end of the year, Kent Donahue told the Dallas Business Journal he'd like to start unveiling the restaurants on the menu for the mixed-use development in Rowlett, which sits 15 miles east of downtown Dallas.

In my opinion, Texas waterfront is a woefully underutilized asset and lake access is even more segregated than North vs South Dallas when compared to oceanfront access in most states. So I think these lagoons, if they catch on and can be maintained, will be one of the biggest game changers Dallas will see in a long time.

The_Overdog wrote:In my opinion, Texas waterfront is a woefully underutilized asset and lake access is even more segregated than North vs South Dallas when compared to oceanfront access in most states. So I think these lagoons, if they catch on and can be maintained, will be one of the biggest game changers Dallas will see in a long time.

I can see these lagoons eventually being built in most lakes throughout DFW. So many people here without much to do outdoors or nice nearby beaches. Certainly just the Rowlett one isn't going to cut it.

Based on the actual products they have built out so far at the site I could tell it was going differently than the glitz and flash they proposed originally. The architecture and overall feel of what they are actually building right now are close to what we have seen everywhere else in DFW. No real differentiator and not like the concept renderings at all. City councils are always likely to get swayed by flashy renderings that show life as we would like to to be never with any reality. The bank obviously came calling and said no office tenant is gonna care about your lagoon so we aren't paying for it.

cowboyeagle05 wrote:Based on the actual products they have built out so far at the site I could tell it was going differently than the glitz and flash they proposed originally. The architecture and overall feel of what they are actually building right now are close to what we have seen everywhere else in DFW. No real differentiator and not like the concept renderings at all. City councils are always likely to get swayed by flashy renderings that show life as we would like to to be never with any reality. The bank obviously came calling and said no office tenant is gonna care about your lagoon so we aren't paying for it.

This makes alot of sense. I will admit, I was kind of disappointed, but I don't really get my hopes up to high around here anymore sometimes. The mayor and city council seemed upset. I heard of some private partnership agreement or something agreeing on building the lagoon. The mayor said that the new proposal isn't apart of the agreement